Developing Intelligent Transportation

From left, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Hany Elgala and his research team, doctoral students Ahmed Hussein, Priti Pachpande, and Monette Khadr. (Photo by Daphne Jorgensen)

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 17, 2018) — There are unquestionably a number of benefits to public transportation, from reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gases to saving money or promoting a healthier lifestyle.

But for those who depend on these systems to get them to and from work, it can be a nerve-racking experience to be waiting for a bus or train that isn’t running on time.

"UWB is a wireless radio system that uses a small amount of energy for simultaneous ranging, location tracking, and transmission of large amounts of data over a wide range of frequency bandwidths," explained G. Brian Burke, managing director of CTG at UAlbany in the report.

For public transportation, UWB could provide numerous benefits, including better tracking of trains and buses, and potentially eliminating the need for turnstiles, tickets or cards to deposit money or swipe for payment.

"Based on the obtained results, more investigations are needed to study how the technology performs in real world scenarios and associated conditions," Elgala said. "We believe that the UWB technology has much more to offer for metropolitan public transportation including train-to-wayside communication and obstacle detection in front of trains."

This technology, if successfully implemented, could be a boon for the millions of Americans who rely on buses, trains and subways. In 2017 alone, the American Public Transportation Association reported 10.1 billion trips were taken on public transportation.

"During the eight months of research, we as a team faced many challenges, but we articulated a way out with teamwork, knowledge sharing and Professor Elgala's encouragement and motivation," said Pachpande. "I am proud of the fact that our research can be used to help solve real-world problems."